Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas canceled a “Puberty and Periods Party” for Dallas-area 4th and 5th graders after public backlash to the event.
As reported by The Dallas Express, the “party” was scheduled for July 28 and was intended to make “sexuality education easy to understand and fun for participants.”
The organization explained, “Puberty is when bodies change from kid bodies to grown-up bodies! It’s a healthy part of growing up. It’s common to feel anxious, excited, or confused about it.”
“We’re here to help preteens learn what to expect,” Planned Parenthood claimed, noting that “[e]veryone is welcome at the puberty party, regardless of their sex assigned at birth or gender identity.”
Some advocate groups denounced the planned event.
Kimberlyn Schwartz, the media director for Texas Right to Life, said, “Planned Parenthood has a disgusting history of targeting children. Their business depends on it.”
“The earlier the organization can introduce its ideology, the earlier minors will be hooked as customers,” she added.
News coverage of the planned event prompted Protect Texas Kids, a local activist group, to organize a protest against the “Puberty and Periods Party.”
“We had read The Dallas Express article several weeks ago … and so we just decided that we would go protest it,” said Kelly Neidert, the group’s executive director, speaking with The Dallas Express.
Describing the event as “really disturbing,” Neidert noted that the registration form required parents to select the pronouns that should be used when referring to their children.
“It just sounded like it was going to be a bad event and not something Planned Parenthood should be hosting for children,” she said.
When members of Protect Texas Kids arrived at the Dallas Planned Parenthood location, however, they were met by law enforcement officers.
“We got there this morning at about 10 a.m., and at that point, there were about eight police cars there waiting for us,” Neidert explained. “A few police came out and talked to us, letting us know that the event had actually been canceled.”
According to Neidert, the officers told the protesters they were within their rights to continue their demonstration.
Protesters held signs reading “Stop Grooming Children” and “Protect Texas Kids” outside Planned Parenthood.
“We stayed for a couple of hours and had people there who were praying,” Neidert said.
During the protest, someone approached Neidert and her companions and informed them that the “Puberty and Periods Party” was “postponed indefinitely.” Neidert said she believed the person was a Planned Parenthood employee.
“It was a really good thing that it was canceled,” Neidert said. “I don’t know if they’ll try to reschedule, but it sounded like they weren’t too confident in that.”
The Dallas Express reached out to Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas for comment about the cancellation but did not receive a response prior to publication.
Still, some pro-abortion think tanks stress the importance of sex education for minors. According to the Guttmacher Institute:
“Sex education is vital to adolescents’ healthy sexual development, and young people have the right to information that is medically accurate, inclusive, and age- and culturally appropriate in order to make informed decisions about their sexual behavior, relationships and reproductive choices. …
“Disparities in the receipt and timing of formal sex education by gender, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation leave some young people without critical information for their sexual health and well-being, particularly when this instruction does not occur before they first have sex.”
